Posts Tagged ‘grassroots’

If politics and public policy are like grass, the Democratic Party is all about AstroTurf. Yes, the fake grass design for the inside of ballparks is a fitting comparison for the fake grassroots of the Blue Team and one of the primary reasons we have been hammered in elections for the last 20 years.

20 years ago, most rural whites in the Dem Party decided to bounce for the GOP. The remaining Dems lived on the two coasts and in big cities. To me, a winning national political party has a big tent that is tolerant of diverse views. The current GOP seeks to be a ruling class that makes decisions for everyone without everyone being at the decision-making table. The Democrats aren’t much better because they make elitist policy directives in headquarters then spend the election season trying to convince their so-called base to fall in line.

For what it is worth, marketing expert Donald Trump listened to the people and told them he would give them what they wanted—if he can or will is another question. At the end of the day, it’s about jobs, the economy and federal spending.

Grass is like the community in so many ways. If you think about it, grass is one of the most common organisms on earth. In addition to being ornamental, grass secures the top soil. My brother and I cut an acre of lawn grass with a push mower as kids for years. Today, I have to convince the lawn care professional with his 5K zero-turn riding mower that grass should be 3 inches. Long grass has deep roots that stores water and blades that protect roots from the southern sun.

Southern Democrats aren’t cultivating deep, strong roots. Strong grass will fight weeds by consuming nutrients first. Oh, you shouldn’t think your lawn will be nice because you have a fence. Weeds from your neighbors’ yard quickly blow into yours. In other words, we build strong communities together; trash down the street will be your problem if not addressed.

In south Georgia, lawns are plagued by a tall “V” weed with black seeds at the top. Newsflash: that’s not a weed. It’s a grass from Brazil called Bahiagrass that farmers brought to the U.S. for cattle feed. You must know Bahia to fight it and the Southern Democrats must know the community to improve it. As the Bible says, you reap what you sow.

What shall we do? My community should get back to basics; we must reembrace the self-determination of the 1950s. At the end of the day, the government can’t save you from you. In the age of Trump, we should cultivate the community with positive personal actions rather than waiting for the government (local, state or federal) to correct problems of our creation.

We should spend the next year focusing on listening to the people and having frank discussions about the limited role of government. Oh, the liberal elites in the Democratic Party don’t want to hear that. The DNC and those who wanted a different president-elect spent over a billion dollars and got waxed. Van Jones pointed out that most of that money went to rich Ivy League types for media buys and T.V. ads while regular folks were expected to do grassroots for pennies or for free.

The Democrats should be cultivating sod right now. Sod is the rolled top level of grass grown on specialist farms. It’s often genetically engineered for that region to be pest resistant and to spread eventually. If you paid for sod and let your grass grow tall and deep, you spent less money on grass cutting. While strong grass might need cutting ever three weeks, weeds will popup overnight. If you fall on Astroturf, you will get burnt because it’s not natural…not organic. You can ask Hillary Clinton about that. That Donald Trump had a message tailor-made for every area and his people ate it up. You can’t design southern Democrat grassroots if you grew up in the city—the concrete jungle. You must ask the people who they are and what they need…if you have a solution, tell them. If you don’t have a solution, tell them. If their actions are the root of their problems, tell them…carefully.

My organic friends and I have a southern grassroots sod crafted for over a decade and every two years the Dem elite say “no thanks…we got this.” No, what you have is a trash-filled yard over-taken by weeds. They put astro-turf over that mess every other November and wonder why that doesn’t work. They shouldn’t be surprised if ignored rural Moderates start looking elsewhere.